English Class
by Narwhals Forever
Summary: "Soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" Hiro Hamada does not appreciate English Class. Set Pre-movie, while Hiro is in high school.


It's a bit long for a one-shot, but don't be discouraged. Please read and enjoy!

(To my friend Simon, who likes Big Hero 6, but not Shakespeare).

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><p>Hiro did not like English class.<p>

The problem with high school when you're a genius is that you already know everything they try to teach you. For that reason, things Hiro was usually into, like science and math, were excrutiatingly boring. And with things Hiro wasn't all that interested in, like literature and spelling and all that English stuff, it was torture.

Especially the Shakespeare unit.

_I hate this,_ twelve-year-old Hiro thought to himself as he pouted in his desk in Mr. Ferrura's English Literature Class. Mr. Ferrura was a dramatic type, who had originally wanted to be an actor but never got his big break, having to settle for teaching a high school English class. Because of this, he got really, really into the plays, having his students read and act out the scripts in class, taking great pride in 'directing' the half-hearted high school seniors.

He had each student write their name out on a slip of paper and fold it up, plopping it into his beret (yes, he actually did wear a beret. Even the super artsy students thought it was a bit much). He stood at the podium and shook it up, preparing to pick out names for each part.

"Alright, my fellow thespians, let's get this show on the road!" Mr. Ferrura said excitedly. "For our class reading of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare," here Mr. Ferrura squealed like an overexcited chipmunk, "let's pick out our cast. Reading for the part of Benvolio…"

Mr. Ferrura reached into his hat and picked out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. He unfolded it, flipped it right-side-up, and cleared his throat. "Harry Winters!"

Harry, a laid-back senior who was well-known for his smart mouth, grinned and flashed a thumbs-up at his buddies, who hooted.

_I wish this class wasn't required to graduate,_ Hiro thought to himself, sketching a robot on a scrap piece of notebook paper.

"For Mercutio...Mitchell Osaku!"

Mitchell Osaku shrugged his thick shoulders indifferently.

"Prince Escalus...Desmond Calhoun!"

Desmond, a skinny black kid with large glasses, rolled his eyes.

"Montague...Jenny Martin!"

"Do I have to play a guy?" Jenny asked, annoyed.

"Gender doesn't play a part in theater," Mr. Ferrura replied, except he pronounced theater like 'thEE-AH-ter.' "Lady Montague, Sadako Miyagi…"

And so on. The number of names in the hat decreased as one by one, each of the seniors in the room got cast. Hiro wasn't listening, still doodling on his notebook. He hated being the only twelve-year-old in a class of high school seniors. Tadashi was in college now, so he didn't even get to see Tadashi during the day anymore. And now that popular, well-liked Tadashi wasn't around to protect him, the idiots of the school had closed in on the twelve-year-old genius. He thanked God above that he only had to spend the remainder of the school year with these people and then he'd never have to see any of them ever again.

As he doodled a picture of a robot, a meaty hand reached out and grabbed it from him. Hiro opened his mouth to protest before looking up to see who it was.

"You still draw robots?" Larger, older, and ruder Arata Smith rolled his eyes, tearing the picture in half. Hiro's eyes watched the pieces of his robot design flutter to the desk surface. "What a nerd."

Hiro shrugged, not saying anything. He had learned not to argue about his being a nerd with Arata Smith, still sporting the huge purplish bruise on his chest from last time. Now, Hiro himself believed it. No matter how much he tried to show otherwise, Hiro was a nerd. Nerds were skinnny and weak. Like Hiro. Nerds idolized scientists that only other scientists knew about, like how Hiro idolized Dr. D. Callaghan. Nerds invented weird stuff in their aunt's garage. Like Hiro. Hiro was a nerd and he couldn't do anything about it. He made a mental note to stop drawing robots.

"Tybalt, Arata Smith." Mr. Ferrura's voice called.

Arata Smith made a fist-pump in the air, his cronies chuckling. "Thanks, Mr. Ferrura," he said sarcastically.

"You're quite welcome," Mr. Ferrura answered, missing the sarcasm. "And now, for our female lead, Juliet… Elizabeth Miyazaki."

Elizabeth, a pretty blonde with dark green eyes and a charming smile (whom Hiro had caught himself staring at occasionally) squealed. Her friends chattered and squealed around her. Elizabeth was a big theater kid, so this was fantastic for her.

Mr. Ferrura grinned. "And reading for our Romeo is…"

Elizabeth immediately looked over at Robert Krone, the good-looking, most popular high school senior that every girl had a crush on. Conveniently, Robert was single, and more conveniently for Elizabeth, so was she. She probably wanted this to be the start of their love story. Hiro rolled his eyes and looked back at his desk, waiting for his name to be called. He'd probably get a role as a shopkeeper or something. As some of the other kids waited with bated breath, Hiro slumped on his desk.

Mr. Ferrura's voice rang out, "Hiro Hamada!"

Hiro instinctively looked up at the sound of his name. He glanced at Mr. Ferrura. What? Was he serious?

He squinted to see Mr. Ferrura more clearly (after Arata Smith had beat him up for his nerd glasses, Hiro had abandoned them in his locker, although he still needed them rather badly). From what he could see, Mr. Ferrura was serious. He recognized his scrawl on the paper from even this distance.

He was Romeo.

His heart sank.

Everyone was staring at him in silent shock. Elizabeth was looking at Mr. Ferrura, then at Hiro, then back at Mr. Ferrura. No amount of acting classes could have hidden the pure horror that showed on her face. Hiro felt his face flush with heat and he covered his head with his arms on his desk.

"Hiro is ROMEO?!" Arata's voice cried. He burst out laughing. The rest of the class was laughing soon.

Mr. Ferrura looked at the class, confused. "I don't get it," he said.

"He's...he's such a nerd!" Arata gasped between giggles.

Hiro felt his face flush deeper.

_That's it,_ Hiro decided._ The universe hates me. Why else would it put me through this sheer torture disguised as education_?

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><p>He stared at the words in his book. The words melted together into a pool of yuck. He couldn't read this.<p>

"Now, Hiro, remember that in this scene, you have just found the love of your life. I want you to show that wonder in your voice as you read. Okay?"

Hiro was sure his face was as red as a tomato by now. They were at the beginning of his love scene with Elizabeth. He felt the rest of the class's eyes on him. He sent a sideways glance at Elizabeth, who was refusing eye contact with anybody, focusing on the book she held in her hands.

Hiro closed his eyes. Time to play a game called WWTS? (What Would Tadashi Say?).

_Breathe,_ Hiro thought. _Tadashi would say to breathe._

Hiro took a deep breath and began to read.

"Soft, what light through yonder window breaks…"

"No, no!" Mr. Ferrura interrupted. "That was too mechanical. Express emotion!"

Hiro didn't know what to say. He thought he had expressed emotion.

"Try it again," Mr. Ferrura urged.

Against his better judgement, Hiro glanced up at his audience. Arata Smith was sitting in the front row of desks, chuckling. Hiro saw the word mouthed. Nerd.

Hiro quickly looked back at the page. His normally high-functioning mind was clouded by irrational fear and nervousness. He watched the words seem to swim across the page. _What_ are these _words_? Are they even _English_?

"Sofft, what light doth...I...uh…" Hiro tried and failed.

A chuckle rippled through the audience. Mr. Ferrura cocked his head like a confused spaniel.

"You wanna, uh, try that again?" Mr. Ferrura asked.

Hiro blushed and nodded. He looked back at the pages.

"Soft...I...uh…"

A female voice whispered in his ear, startling him. "Just relax," Elizabeth said. "Release your inhibitions. Right now, you're not Hiro Hamada. You're Romeo Montague."

Almost immediately, Hiro mentally retorted, "Of course I'm Hiro Hamada. There's no way I could possibly be Romeo Montague." But then, Hiro thought about it for a second. The idea of becoming someone else...it seemed so inviting. Romeo Montague wasn't a nerd. Romeo Montague wasn't picked on for being shorter or smarter than anyone else. Romeo could hold his own in a sword fight.

For some reason Hiro couldn't explain, his brain latched onto that idea of becoming someone else. He was the hero of the story. He was capable, not-nerdy Romeo Montague. Everything in his high-functioning brain changed. His body was Hiro Hamada's, but his brain had suddenly become Romeo's.

"Soft, what light through yonder window breaks. It is the East, and Juliet is the sun," Hiro said, surprising himself at how natural the words seemed to flow from his mouth.

The classroom had gone dead in silence, except Mr. Ferrura, who was jumpng up and down in excitement. "Yes! Yes! Keep going!"

Encouraged, Hiro went on. "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief…"

Mr. Ferrura nearly had a heart attack, collapsing on the floor and squealing like a fangirl as Hiro finished the speech.

"Excellent, excellent, Hiro! Wonderful! Brilliant! Fantasmastical! Is that a word? I say it's a word!" Mr. Ferrura rushed up to Hiro and presented him proudly to the class.

"This is what I'm talking to you about, you guys! The magic of literature that transforms this young lad into a Shakespearean hero!" He trumpeted. "Oh, go on, you two, do the rest of the scene!"

Hiro and Elizabeth's exchanges went smoothly. Hiro had become completely immersed in his character, so much that he hadn't even noticed the hesitant smile creeping across Elizabeth's face.

"Sweet, so would I, yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be tomorrow." Elizabeth said, smiling at Hiro.

"Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast! Would I sleep and peace, so sweet to rest! Hence will I to my father's ghostly cell, his help to crave and my dear hap to tell." Hiro responded. Still in "Romeo" mode, he leaned forward towards Elizabeth, waiting for Juliet to return a kiss. When she did not move, the Romeo stage melted out of his brain, and he once again became Hiro Hamada. He leaned back sheepishly.

Mr. Ferrura applauded wildly, followed by ample but not quite as enthusiastic applause from the rest of the class.

"Excellent, excellent, both of you, but Hiro! Magnificent! Have you ever considered being an actor?"

Hiro shook his head, dazed. He barely remembered what had just taken place.

"Well, you should, dear lad, you should! Broadway, Hollywood needs talent like yours! And as young as you are, too! I guess you're gifted in all sorts of ways!"

Hiro looked at the ground, knowing Mr. Ferrura meant well but hated getting all the praise in front of the other students.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Immediately, the class dispersed, gathering up their things and heading out the door. Hiro walked over to his desk and began grabbing all his stuff to head to AP Robotics and Engineering, the most advanced robotics class they had before college. He took his sweet time, not wanting to face any of the other students. The classroom was, he thought, empty.

A finger tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up, expecting Arata, but instead found himself face to face with the much older girl he had almost kissed in front of the entire class.

"Hey," Elizabeth said softly. "Good job today."

"Uh, thank you," Hiro said awkwardly. "You too."

"Look," Elizabeth said, twirling a piece of blonde hair around her finger, "I admit, I used to think you were kind of a tryhard. Like, a brat. But you really have talent. And potential. You're kind of cool, for a little kid."

Hiro blinked. This was the first time anybody in any school he had ever gone to called him cool, or talented, besides teachers. The fact that she called him a little kid didn't matter. He was amazed.

"Anyway, if you want to try theater out or something, I totally think you should go for it. But whatever you do, you know, after senior year, you're gonna do great. Just release your inhibitions and go for it. You know? I know it's rough being the little guy in a whole bunch of big guys, but don't let anyone tell you that you're wrong for doing so, or that you're not cool or anything, because you are."

Hiro nodded, gaping up at her like she was a goddess come to walk the Earth.

She awkwardly adjusted the strap on her backpack and smiled. "Well, see you later, I guess," she said, walking out of the room.

Hiro shook himself out of the shock. She had called him cool. A kind of hot, much older teenage girl who was super talented and popular had called him, Hiro Hamada, a skinny little nerd, cool. It was his moment in the sun.

Maybe she has a point. Hiro considered it as he walked out of the classroom. Even though he enjoyed it more, he could ditch nerdy inventing for acting. It would be a career. She said he has talent. Maybe if he became an actor, he wouldn't be thought of as a nerd.

His thoughts were interrupted by a large hand coming out of nowhere and pushing him into a locker. Metal hit skull and Hiro felt a sharp pain at the base of his head.

Breath that smelled of egg rolls and poop filled his nostrils as Arata Smith and a bunch of his surrounding cronies cornered him. "Look, he's headed to his nerd class in the robot room. Nice job today in English, Hamada. Quite an actor." Arata said.

Hiro opened one eye to regard Arata suspiciously.

"Unfortunately, getting that into character to impress a teacher and a girl you'll never get is a sign of a serious medical condition called nerdiness."

Hiro winced as Arata spat out the dreaded word.

_Nerd._

Arata and his friends walked away, laughing their heads off. Hiro watched them leave.

Forget acting. Forget inventing. Both were nerd jobs. Hiro couldn't live life knowing he chose a nerd job for a career.

What was a non-nerdy job to have? Bot-fighting?

Maybe. Illegal, but still made plenty of money. Hiro knew for a fact that Arata and some other guys were into it. It was definitely not nerdy.

Hiro forgot Elizabeth's words as he walked down the hall and out the door. He wouldn't be going to any more nerd classes today.

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><p>Author's Note- Let me just say that this is not the direction I intended for this story at all. I thought it up as a cutesy, funny story, but it ended up being kind of sad. Wow. Okay then.<p>

Isn't it weird how life turns out different like that?

Anyway, the quotes from Shakespeare are real, as I am a confessed Shakespeare fanatic (they come from the end of Act 2, Scene 1 in Romeo and Juliet, if you're curious. It's also known as "The Balcony Scene" in a lot of media). I do not own Shakespeare(that's a bit of a given) nor do I own Big Hero 6. Wish I did, though, that movie is a work of genius.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Or don't. I appreciate reviews, as it keeps me motivated to write more, but if you don't have the time or if you were in a freak accident and lost all but two of your fingers so you have like, a claw and you can't type anything, it's okay. I'm not going to hunt you down with a spork.

But if you have all your fingers or if you have time, please review! I like to hear from you!

Ta-ta!

Narwhals Forever


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